LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



Shell -,?V4^ \ 

3^7 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



The Gospel Among tie BoysuGirls. 



Dedicated to the Children at Chautauqua. 



HILES PARDOE. 



THE GOSPEL 



AMONG THE BOYS AND" GIRLS. 



DEDICATED 



CHILDREN AT CHAUTAUQUA. 



HILES pardok 



YR.'G* 







Copyright 1879. 
inquirer p. & p. co., lancaster, pa, 

1 




3 



V 4-511 



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i 



Dear Brothers and Sisters: 

To-day you live in that beautiful land known by older 
people as happy childhood. It is a bright and sunny 
land, full of flowers, fruits, and pretty pictures. Let me 
add a new joy to your life, by showing you a few things 
concerning yourselves and others, and that which is above 
you, around you, within you, beyond you. 

To say that I hope you will never mar your childhood, 
or your after life, by anything wicked, hardly expresses 
my mind. 

Let me therefore, in this round dozen of little sermons, 
guide you to the Guide Himself y whose simple life and 
valuable death has made it possible for you to be filled 
with faith, with hope, with love, with right-doing. 

The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



1. Fox-Hunting ........ 9 

2. How Children Can Find Out God 17 

3. Timothy . . ^ 25 

4. Sharp Little Fellows . . . . . . 31 

5. Greater Than a Brother 39 

6. The Tattler 47 

7. An Autumn Leaf ........ 53 

8. A Chat About the Bible -59 

9. Child-Life . , . . . . . , . 65 
10. A Fishing Excursion in the Olden Time ..'■"._- 73 

11 The Gate of Power 79 

12. The Eaglets and Their Mother 85 



tfX-jpntitta, 



THE 

GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



FOX-HUNTING. 

"Take ye the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines. Our 
vines have tender grapes." — Solomon s Song, ii. 15. 

I. 

BOYS, what is a vineyard? Did you ever see one? 
When men want to plant a vineyard, they generally 
select a hillside — some warm shelter where the early sun 
will find its way into the soil. Then they get some 
choice grape-vines and plant them in rows a few feet 
apart. As these grow they tie the vines to upright 
sticks, or train each of them up on a trellis. 

When your Pa said, " Come, my son, let us walk out 
to the vineyard/' you didn't need much coaxing, did 
you ? You went tripping along over the hills as merry 
as a cricket. When you reached the place, the owner 
unlocked a big gate and invited you into the yard. 
What a beautiful sight ! Ah, those delicious bunches ! 
Don't you remember how the man took a pair of scissors 
and clipped off a bunch and handed it to your Ma, 
saying, " Madame, these are Concords." Before you 
1* (9) 



IO GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

had time to say, " Please, Ma, give me some," your own 
hands were full : the man kept saying, " Here, little boy, 
are some Dianas and Catawbas." And so he continued, 
" These are Delawares, and these Isabellas." When you 
were tired eating, you found your little bucket chock-full 
of all varieties. What a splendid time you had ! 

Well, the heart of a little child is a vineyard (i e.) it's a 
place where things are planted, and where they grow. 
Among the many things which are found there are : 

1. Little Feelings. The heart is the place where we 
begin to love or hate people and things. When Mr. 
Jasper moved next door to your home and became your 
neighbor, you said, " I wonder if I ever can love that 
man?" One day he stopped you and said. " My dear, do 
you go to school ?" You didn't answer him at all, you 
only laughed. The next time he met you he talked 
longer to you ; he gave you an apple, or a penny, or per- 
haps a bunch of flowers. Didn't you feel something 
getting warm under your jacket? Yes, you fell in love 
with him right away. Love, then, is a little vine. Love 
climbs upon that little trellis called confidence. Love 
bears fruit. It bears rich clusters of good deeds, kind 
words, happy smiles, fervent prayers. In this beautiful 
vineyard are found also : 

2. Little Beliefs. The heart is full of these. Some- 
body once said to you, " There is a God ; there is such a 
thing as sin; there is such a Being as a Saviour; there are 
such places as heaven, and hell." The Bible has said 
"The pure in heart shall see God;" that "the wicked shall 
be driven away in his wickedness." Many other subjects 



FOX-HUNTING. I I 

have been brought to your. mind to think upon. Soon 
you began to read about them, think about them, talk 
about them. And see how they have grown! These 
are little vines. They were first planted, then they 
budded, and are now getting fruit upon them. These 
little vines are winding around the lattice-work of 
memory and reflection, and after a while other people 
will begin to pluck fruit from them in the way of shaping 
their thoughts and opinions. There are also : 

3. Little Hopes. If you were to have a school vaca- 
tion next week, and you had been promised to go out 
into the country to your grandfather's, you would be 
saying, all the time, " O, I do hope I'll have a good time." 
When one is sick you hear him say, " I hope to get 
better/' Hope belongs to to-morrow. It is something 
we desire and expect. Hopes are little vines ; and how 
tender and beautiful! And what pretty things grow 
there! And all varieties, just as there are all kinds of 
grapes in the vineyard. 

II. 

Girls, did you ever see a fox? He is a little four- 
legged animal, not larger than your dog Towser. He 
has a little round head like that of a baby; tiny eyes like 
jet beads ; his ears are three-cornered ; his teeth long and 
sharp ; and his tail large and bushy. 

There are all colors of foxes, almost. There's the red 
fox, the grey fox, the black fox, the white fox, and so on. 
Foxes live in the ground. They dig slanting holes far 



12 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

into the ground, and have little rooms there where they 
live. Foxes have some singular traits : 

1. They are very cunning. They travel in the night. 
They don't carry any lanterns along, either. They sneak 
about as if their mothers had forgotten to put on their 
shoes when they gave them their stockings. To keep 
the dogs from tracking them, they sometimes jump from 
one side of the track to the other. Sometimes they 
climb a fence and run along, upon it. Some say that an 
English fox will act like a possum if overtaken, i. e., he 
will lie down and pretend tie is dead. 

2. Foxes are little sinners. You don't catch them 
lying down in their dens, gnawing at old bones like dogs 
do. You never find them eating carrion. They want 
dessert all the time. Foxes always find out where the 
hen-roosts are. They go in search of them, and when 
they have found them, they creep in the door. There 
sit the old rooster and the hens on the sassafras pole, 
dreaming of the good time they'll have to-morrow in the 
barn-yard. But do you hear that noise? — click, click, 
and the throats of the chickens are cut, and the bloody 
game is carried off to the den. 

In some countries — as Palestine — they get into the 
vineyards and nip off the buds, and spoil the vines. They 
are very troublesome little fellows — very troublesome, 
indeed. 

Let me tell you of another breed of foxes : They are 
without eyes, or ears, or heads. There is one kind which 
is named "telling lies." We said these foxes had no 



FOX-HUNTING. 13 

heads, but some of them have. They have a red face 
and downcast eyes, and truant lips. 

"John," said a father one day, "tell me now, did you 
beat your playmate to-day ?" 

" No, sir," said John's lips ; but John's red face said 
"Yes, sir." 

A second breed of these little foxes is " swearing." 
How swearing soils the lips, and injures the soul, and 
offends our Maker ! Let me mention some other of .the 
little scoundrels who get into the vineyard of the human 
heart. There are: "bad books," "filthy pictures," "to- 
bacco," "whisky," "truant-playing," "disobedience," etc., 
etc. The tender grapes, which would grow upon the 
lives of boys and girls, are destroyed . before they get to 
perfection. Only think of a boy sitting in his Sunday- 
school class singing, "In the rifted rock I'm resting," 
and at the same time having a lie in his heart, or a bad 
book in his pocket. 

III. 

And now, what is to be done? How shall boys and 
girls get rid of these pests? The text says, we must 
"Take" them, i. e., we must catch them. " Take you the 
little foxes" — catch you the little foxes. Entrap them. 
Set about capturing them, as when you bait your trap to 
catch rabbits. Study how to slay little sins. Corner 
them. Confess them to God. Repent of them in the 
name of Jesus. Turn from them. Keep away from 
those who practise them. 

The counties of Pennsylvania which lie along the 



14 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

ridges or mountains, have laws which authorize the 
treasurers to give a premium for fox scalps. There is a 
premium for catching and destroying these figurative 
foxes. The premium is: The blessing of a good con- 
science; the blessing of our heavenly Father ; the blessing 
of everlasting life, 



3(w 4^'^^ m m * txi $*&< 



HOW CHILDREN CAN FIND OUT GOD. 

" If haply they might feel after him and find him," — Acts ii. 22, 

WHEN did you first get the idea that there is a God ? 
How did you get that idea ? Did your Ma break 
that news to you? But how did your Ma find it out? 
Can any one see God ? Can any one touch him ? Can 
any one hear his voice ? 

That was a funny notion the little girl had about 
poetry, wasn't it? She said, " Pa, I don't think poetry is 
pretty, at all." As she said this, she ran her little fingers 
along the capital letters of each line, and found them very 
uneven. She put the poem up to her ear to try to hear 
it, and then to her tongue to see what it would taste like. 
" Now," she said, " I know it isn't pretty." 

But isn't poetry pretty? Thousands of things are 
strong, or good, or evil, or pretty, or homely, which we 
cannot see, or hear, or touch. Did you ever see a head- 
ache ? Did you ever see the wind ?■ Who ever saw the 
sweet fragrance of a rose ? And yet we all know that 
these are real things. So, " God is not far from any one 
of us, though we cannot see him." It is the duty of all 
to " feel after him if haply we may find him." How, then, 
can we find him out ? 

1. There is something within us which answers back 
to the idea of God. A deaf and dumb boy was sent to 

(17) 



18 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the hospital. He had never heard of God. When his 
teacher told him of that great Being, he replied that, 
although he had no definite idea of it before that time 
when it was made known to him, he grasped it at once 
and delighted himself in it. He said, " It must be so." 
His soul answered the great Soul of the universe. The 
spiritual within him replied to the invisible and spiritual 
outside of him. 

2. Whenever you take a walk, you may be made sensi- 
ble that there is a God. The mountains yonder were 
never heaped up by man, or by dead laws. It would be 
absurd to say so. Who could bring the springs out of 
the hills ? Who could scoop out a bed for tfre ocean ? 
Could your uncle make a tree grow, or a flower bloom ? 
Who but a great being like God, could create the noise- 
less, but powerful, sunlight ? Who but he could open 
the clouds, or make the dew sparkle on the grass like 
millions of diamonds ? The spring, with its beautiful 
bird-families coming back from their sunny homes; the 
summer, with fruits, and flowers, and grain ; the autumn 
and winter, each with their good cheer for all ; these are 
the children of God sent to serve us. 

And there is such' a perfect plan in everything around 
us. A bee one day crawled into a flower to get some 
honey for breakfast. Soon after he had crawled into the 
flower, a little humming-bird swept down upon him with 
wings big enough for a winding-sheet, and in which he 
intended to wrap him. But he soon let his little prisoner 
go. This little fellow was furnished by his Creator with 
a little weapon to defend himself, and he commenced 



HOW CHILDREN CAN FIND OUT GOD. 1 9 

stinging his enemy until the little bird was glad euough 
to let him go. Some one knew that that little bee must 
protect itself, and gave it a sharp stinger and the power 
to drive it. 

When the turtle is in danger, he goes into his shell- 
house, invites nobody in, and shuts the door tight. The 
birds have wings, and, knowing the time for frosts and 
snows, fly to a sunnier land. The animals which we 
must have to do our work have great hairy overcoats. 
Other animals burrow in the ground, and lie and sleep in 
their winter homes. But some one thought this all out, 
and made everything just as it ought to be. That being 
is God. Everything in nature, in the earth, in the 
heavens, are the works of his hands. 

3. We learn about God through the wonderful history 
of the families and nations which have been living upon 
the earth for six thousand years. Some great, thoughtful 
power has been taking care of them all this time. Some 
one has been providing food and clothing for them, pro- 
tecting them, blessing them, raising up one nation and 
putting down another. This power is called Providence. 
Providence is God — the over- ruling, guiding eye of 
God — the kind, thoughtful, eternal Spirit. 

4. And now we come to the precious old book — the 
Bible. What does it say about God? It tells us the 
great story in fullness. It says that " God created the 
heavens and the earth;" that "he made man in his 
own image ;" that he gave the earth to man and made 
everything to be his servants. At that time man was 
pure and good. It says that man fell into sin; that hav- 



20 GOSTEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

ing sinned and being driven away from God, salvation 
was promised him; that for this purpose God chose 
the Jews to keep in trust his promises and good words 
until Jesus Christ — his own Son — should come into the 
world, should suffer and die for us, and in so doing 
should lead us back to God. The Bible says further, 
that God is so deeply interested in' us that when we re- 
pent and believe in his Son, he counts the hairs on 
our head, and that if we get into deep sorrow he will 
take and comfort us " like as one whom his mother com- 
forteth." It tells us that when we get into danger he 
will hide us in himself, even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her soft wings ; that if our mother and 
father forsake us, he will take us up; that in the solemn 
and awful hour of death he will lay his arms of mercy 
and love underneath us, and bear us away into the 
heavenly places. The Bible continues to say that Jesus 
will come again the second time, and put an end to all 
earthly things ; that all dead people shall come to life 
again ; that all who are then living shall be changed ; 
that God will separate the wicked from the good ; that 
all who are worthy, shall thenceforward know no pain, 
nor sickness, nor sorrow, and that " God shall wipe away 
all tears from off all faces;" that the wicked shall be 
driven away in their wickedness. 

5. The last method of which I shall speak in finding 
our Lord, is by prayer. 

The reason so many people know so little about God, is 
because they do not pray. It is our duty to pray to him 
to make himself known. It is his desire that we should 



HOW CHILDREN CAN FIND OUT GOD. 21 

pray. Jesus said, if we will do what the heavenly Father 
desires, we shall know whether Jesus' words were of 
God, or whether he spake of himself. He further said 
that by prayer God would make himself known unto us 
as he would not unto the world, and that " the pure in 
heart should see God." Finally, he said that " If any 
man love me he will keep my words, and I will love him, 
and we will come unto him and make our abode with 
him." 

What then is the conclusion ? There is a God ! He is 
the Creator of all things ! He upholds all things, and all 
men. He is kind. He hears prayer. He is near every 
one of us. He is near us all the time. He knows all we 
do. He hears all we say. 

What then ought we to do ? What then ought we to 
be ? Let each answer for himself. 



^fimtftftg* 



TIMOTHY. 

<c Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith." — I Timothy, i. 2. 

SOME boys live in the country — the real country — 
far out upon the prairies, or in the quiet of the moun- 
tains or valleys. If you question them about horses, or 
cows, or sheep, or geese, you can't puzzle them. They 
know the exact time when the fields ought to be plowed; 
when the wheat, and oats, and rye, ought to be sown ; 
when to cut the grain ; when to husk the corn, and shear 
the sheep, and make the cider, and all of that. They see 
the sun rise almost every morning. They go to bed 
early. They love meadows, and trees, and fields, and 
one day seems to be very much like another. 

Other boys live in cities. Every day they see great 
crowds of people on the streets. They all seem to be in 
a great hurry. Some are driving along in fine carriages, 
some riding in the street-cars, others are walking. There 
are all kinds of men, too : mechanics, draymen, peddlers, 
merchants, bankers, lawyers, etc. ; rich men, poor men, 
beggars ; men who live in beautiful houses, men who 
live in damp cellars or dirty garrets. These boys have 
been often on the decks of proud ships ; they know all 
about steamboats, sloops, brigs, tugs ; they visit the 
markets, and parks, and libraries, and places of amuse- 
ment. They have been in elegant churches, halls, stores, 
and the like, 

2 (25) 



26 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Then, again, some boys live in towns. They know the 
names and faces of almost everybody in the place. 
They delight themselves in all manner of sports. They 
enjoy a trip to the city or to the country in vacation, and, 
taking it all in all, have good times. 

But wherever boys live, they are still boys. In the 
Spring they must go bare-foot, shoot marbles, fly kites, 
play leap-frog; in the Summer they must fish and swim, 
and lie under the shade trees — they also love to shoot 
fire-crackers ; in the Autumn they go nutting, grub 
shinnies, play ball, commence school ; in the Winter they 
skate, and coast, and read around the evening lamp. It 
is just as natural for boys to do these things as it is for 
the sun to shine, or birds to fly. And do you believe it, 
they say, " I'll die unless I get more time to play." 

Timothy was a town boy, and no doubt knew a great 
deal about games, and schools, and pleasures. He was 
born in Lystra, in Asia Minor, about 1800 years ago. 
There were no railroaos then, nor telegraphs, nor tele- 
phones, nor telescopes, nor printing presses, nor steam- 
ships, nor free schools, nor Christian churches. Lystra 
was a heathen town. The people worshiped idols, and 
were rude and ignorant. But Timothy had a good 
home. His mother's name was Eunice. She was a 
Jewess. His father was a Greek. The name of his 
grandmother was Lois. 

I. Timothy was a good Bible student. His mother 
believed in the one true and living God. She believed in 
the providences of God, and the promises of God. She 
taught her boy the truths of the Old Testament — the 



TIMOTHY. 2J 

Psalms, the Prophets, and the history of her people, the 
Jews. Timothy's grandmother was diligent in teaching 
him the pure words of God. He received the truth. 

2. Timothy was a temperance boy. He visited no 
ranche. He drank no intoxicating liquors. Even when 
he became a young man he w T ould not take liquors for 
medicine, until when advised to do so by a preacher 
Timothy used no cigars nor tobacco. 

3. Timothy was a Christian. One day two ministers 
came into Lystra and began to preach. They told the 
people of Jesus. Meeting a lame man, they healed him. 
At first the people were much pleased, and thought 
these men were gods. Afterward they turned against 
them, stoned them, and dragged Paul through the streets, 
and left him lying outside of the walls of the town. But 
some of the people believed the preaching* They feared 
God and trusted Christ. Among the number was 
Timothy. He became a follower of Jesus and a believer 
in his doctrines. 

4. Timothy was a minister of the Gospel. Being hon- 
est and sober and good, and being recommended so 
highly by the men of his town, Paul soon began to love 
him. Upon his return some time afterward, being con- 
vinced that Timothy was called of God to be a religious 
teacher and missionary, Paul made him his traveling 
companion. Together they traveled for years through 
all the towns and cities of that land and other lands, 
preaching Jesus unto the people. During his long life in 
which he was consecrated to God, he sought out good 
reading and good men. He became an example in con- 



28 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

versation and faith and purity. He led many into a 
knowledge of a better life. It is believed that he died a 
martyr to his religion. Now let me say : 

1. Make out of your home, the most good you can 
for yourself. Money is of but little worth to you. 
Don't be too eager to start into business, so you can 
make money for yourself. Study books. Get acquainted 
with the world. Get the power to talk well and write 
well. Push up into the higher schools. Stick to the 
Sunday-school. Study the Bible. Don't hang around 
the grocery, or saloon, or post-office. Don't waste your 
time on dime novels or trashy papers. Read books that 
will make you think right thoughts and do right deeds. 
Enjoy your innocent sports. Select your companions. 
Do everything well. Not all good boys are to become 
preachers, but each one ought to be a good man. 

2. Make out of your life, the most good you can for 
others. If you live for the sake of others, you will be 
happy. If you live only for yourself, you cannot be 
happy. The name of Timothy is still fragrant. Like his 
Master, he spent his time in doing good. You will meet 
with many discouraging things if you do right. But you 
must keep straight forward. In South Africa, in the dry 
season, a thorny bush grows up quite rapidly and multi- 
plies itself very strongly. Travelers sometimes have to 
carry an axe along with them, to clear up the way. The 
name of the bush is " wait-a-bit." Some little " wait-a- 
bits" will grow up in your path. They will hedge you 
in unless you are careful. You must carry an axe along 
with you to destroy them. Those " wait-a-bits" are de- 
feats, persecutions, trials. That axe is prayer. 



4 



■h 



§\wy %\\\U Ipliow*, 



SHARP LITTLE FELLOWS. 

"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in 
the summer. The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they 
their houses in the rocks. The locusts have no king, yet go forth 
all of them by bands. The spider taketh hold with her hand, and 
is in kings' palaces." — Proverbs xxx. 25-28, 

A NTS are of many colors. There are black ants, 
il and white ones, red, and yellow, and brown. 
They are very sociable, but they don't keep house 
like people, each family by itself, for a great many 
hundred families live together. Their grounds are laid 
out something like a city, with streets running across 
each other in all directions. Some ants are known as 
mason ants, because they lay out cells in the clay, in 
which they eat and sleep; some are called carpenter ants, 
because they build their rooms in old rotten trees, and 
live there. In South America, some of the ant hills, or 
houses, are twenty feet high. Ants have many funny 
habits. They must have some sort of language, for they 
do so many wonderful things. They are very kind to 
their little folks. They are very strong, and can carry 
loads many times bigger than themselves. Some ants 
are called " workers," and some " soldiers." The " work- 
ers" are very busy all day. The streets are as wide- 
awake as Broadway in New York, and the police keep 
everything quiet and in good order ; there is no fighting. 

(30 



32 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Many are getting food for winter. When they are 
hungry they often suck honey-dew out of a certain plant. 
Some are known as soldiers. They go out and rob other 
ant colonies, and carry off the little folks and make 
slaves of them, Ants often move from one place to 
another. They go then in large bodies, and have been 
known to make tunnels when it was necessary, and to 
build suspension bridges by hanging on one to another. 
After the bridge was built, the whole army would go 
over. Ants are very persevering. In preparing their 
food in the summer, they teach us to look ahead. They 
are not lazy. They don't waste their time. They mind 
their own business. Solomon knew w r hat he was talking 
about when he said we should go to school a little while 
to the ant. Not only time, but eternity, lies before us. 

2. There are no conies in America. In Palestine, 
where they are found, they grow about as big as our 
rabbits, and are of a brownish color. They have long, 
bristly hairs, no tails, and naked feet. They have no 
sharp claws with which to dig, so they must find a place 
to live somewhere else than in the ground. They stay 
among the rocks. They love the holes in the wild cliffs 
on the sea coast. There they can easily get water to 
drink. They live mostly on seeds and vegetables. The 
reason the Bible is so careful to speak of such little 
things as conies, is that we may, like them, keep out of 
danger. All sin is danger. As these little fellow T s run 
into their holes among the rocks when they see an 
animal bigger than themselves, or see a man with a gun; 
so we are to have a safe place into which we may run 



SHARP LITTLE FELLOWS. 33 

and hide. Such a place is God. He says he is a refuge 
for all who trust in him — indeed a strong and eternal 
refuge. Nothing can harm us there. In olden times 
God said the Jews should have six refuge cities. Into 
any one of these, certain persons, who were in great 
danger, could fly and be safe. Our "city of refuge" is 
the Saviour. Such as have fled to him are safe. Such 
as fly to him shall be safe. 

3. The locusts of the Holy Land are something like 
our grasshoppers, only much larger. Eastern travelers 
say some are six inches long, and are as thick as a man's 
finger. Their heads are much like a horse's head in 
shape. These locusts have wings and long legs. They 
also have sharp teeth, and are very destructive upon 
every green plant, or shrub, or flower, or bit of grass. 
Like soldiers, they have encampments, although they 
have no tents except the leafy woods. Millions upon 
millions of them collect together, and when they are all 
arranged they consider themselves under marching 
orders. Although they have no kings or queens, like 
the bees, they band together, and are under strict regu- 
lations. When marching, they go in straight lines, and 
nothing can turn them aside. If a house stands in their 
way they crawl over the house— up one side and down 
the other. If a fire, they march right into it. If a ditch 
filled with water, they press into the ditch until a bridge 
is made of dead bodies. They will not vary an inch from 
their course. In their flights to other countries they are 
like vast clouds, almost shutting out the light of the sun. 
We are to learn from them to do things according to an 



34 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

exact rule. We should do things from habit. Let us 
be sure the thing is right, and then do it without waver- 
ing or turning aside. Like the locusts, we may unite 
with others in doing. 

4. The spider is a mechanic. Shut him into a room, 
and he will in a very little time throw a bridge from one 
end of the room to the other. It will be strong enough 
for him to cross over from side to side, and as he builds 
it himself you charge him no toll. Indeed, he is not 
only a " bridge-builder," but he is a " weaver." He has 
a little spinning apparatus inside of himself, and he can 
weave a very beautiful and cunning web. If it is out of 
doors, and the dew falls upon it all night, in the morning 
it will be a little fairy palace, sparkling like diamonds. 
If we did not know better, we should think that he had 
studied mathematics. The threads are so pretty and are 
put together so regularly, he must have a great many 
beautiful patterns in his head. Some spiders are great 
home-bodies. After they have woven their houses, they 
hide themselves in the back-room until a silly fly or gnat 
steps upon their web and gets entangled ; then as quick 
as a dart, they seize hold of it, bite it and tie it fast with 
some threads. Sometimes after they have caught enough 
they will have a feast-day. Some spiders live about the 
water — indeed, in the water. They can live under the 
water for a good while by carrying air along with them. 
There is one kind of spider in the West Indies, which 
builds a very singular nest. It is in the shape of a boy's 
stocking, only he has a trap door at the top, which he 
opens and shuts whenever he pleases. Spiders, then, 



SHARP LITTLE FELLOWS. 35 

have great skill. In this we may well follow them. A 
bungling workman, or a botch, is hard to endure. But 
one who does his work well is to be praised, and he 
shall have great reward. The spider, for his patient 
work, lives in king's palaces. The four great lessons 
then are : 

1. Looking ahead and preparing for the future. 

2. Guarding ourself from danger, by having a safe 
hiding place. 

3. Marching forward according to rule — being united 
with others. 

4. Doing everything well. 



<|maur t\m a 3$*<r.tlt*{» 



GREATER THAN A BROTHER. 

" There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." — Proverbs 

xviii. 24. 

IN Switzerland, nearly four hundred years ago, a father 
and son were to be put to death. They had refused to 
pray to any dead saint, and would only receive Jesus as 
the Mediator between God and themselves. When they 
were walking up the steps to the place where their heads 
were to be cut off from their bodies, the son said, " My 
dear father, to-day we must suffer death for Jesus. Here- 
after you are no longer my father, and I am no longer 
your son, but we are brothers in Christ." 

"Amen !" said the old man,j"and may God bless you, 
my beloved brother!' 

Yes ; religion makes brothers of us — old or young, 
rich or poor. And Jesus himself becomes our elder 
brother. After he had risen from the grave, he said to 
two women, " Be not afraid. Go tell my brethren — mean- 
ing his disciples — that they go into Galilee, and there 
they shall see me." Even the poorest man, or woman, 
or child, has Jesus for a brother, if they love God and 
serve him. At the great Judgment Day, the Saviour will 
say to those who loved him, " Inasmuch as ye have 
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye 
have done it unto me." 

Many beautiful things have been dug up out of the 
(39) 



40 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

ruins of old cities. Many precious things have been 
found in old safes and vaults after a great fire has de- 
stroyed the bank or store. So also that beautiful and 
precious thing, the love of our brother Jesus, has come 
down to us through the wreck and ruin of our sin. 

We generally love those who love us. We love things 
which are pure and beautiful and good. But Jesus 
sought us out when we were yet sinners. He came out 
into the dark and bleak mountains of sin to find the lost 
sheep. He came into the sinfulness of our sinful w r orld 
to save us from sin. He even laid down his life for our 
sakes. He loved us and gave himself for us when there 
was nothing good in us. 

And Jesus is a true friend to us. Sometimes we meet 
those who seem to be our friends. We put trust in them. 
We love to trust them. But they deceive us. Secretly 
they are enemies. They are friends only on the surface. 
But the Saviour " having loved his own, loved them unto 
the end!' He loved them all the time, he loves them 
still. 

Did you ever read that little love story in the Bible 
about David and Jonathan ? Jonathan was the oldest son 
of Saul. Saul was the king of Israel. At the death of 
his father, Jonathan would have been made the king. 
David was a shepherd, but he had been chosen of God 
to be king after Saul died. Now, Jonathan knew this. 
But Jonathan was not jealous of David. He did not try 
to destroy his good name or his life. He loved him 
He encouraged him when he was driven out by the king 
among strangers. When they had to part from each 



GREATER THAN A BROTHER. 41 

. other, Jonathan fell upon David's neck and wept. He 
loved him like as if he were a brother, and always 
wanted to be " next to David/' 

If I knew what was going on in your life, I might tell 
you how happy you are in the love of one of your broth- 
ers. You no doubt love them all, and very dearly. But 
there is one among them who seems a little more like 
yourself than the others. He thinks the same thoughts 
that you do. He has the same kind of feelings that you 
have — the same kind of ways. You like him to be with 
you all the time. This is the feeling of our Saviour for 
all who love him and are true to him. He was very 
kind to everybody. He went about in all that country of 
Palestine, doing good. Whenever he met a blind man he 
gave him new eyes. If he would see a lame man who 
wanted help, he at once told him to get up and walk — 
which he did. If any were sick and came to him, he 
healed them. If any were ignorant, he taught them. If 
any hungry, he fed them. Joyfully and without pay he 
went about doing good to the souls and bodies of men. 
But to those that loved him best, and were most anxious 
to follow him, to them he gave signs of greatest friend- 
ship. He was more than a brother. He went with them 
to their homes. He told them many secrets. He al- 
lowed them to go into the mountains where he showed 
them his glory. He wept when their friends died. He 
even w r ashed their feet. He came to them after his resur- 
rection and told them w T hat to do, and what he would do. 
He was with them during the last hours he spent upon 
earth. He gave them his last words. He remembered 



42 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

them after he went up into heaven, and sent the Holy 
Spirit upon them. And he is just as faithful to us to-day 
as he was to his disciples; that is, if we are faithful to 
him. When we are in trouble he helps us. When we are 
weak he strengthens us. When we are tempted he de- 
livers us. He is more than a brother to us. What a 
sweet fact it is, too, that he helps little children. He 
shows them the way. He leads them gently along the 
rough places where they must walk. He knows all their 
little trials. If one is an orphan, he is like a mother. If 
one prays to him, he hears and answers. If one studies 
his word, he opens his eyes. If any trust him, they are 
not disappointed. 

He loves children. He loves them dearly. He put 
his hands of blessing upon their heads when he lived 
upon the earth, He takes large numbers of them to his 
heavenly home every day. He calls them to himself and 
says, " Of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

A little girl ten years of age lay upon her death-bed. 
One day her papa came into the room and stroked back 
her sunny curls. 

" Papa !" she said, " how much do I cost you every 
year?" 

" Hush ! my dear, and be quite quiet." The father 
thought it would excite her to talk. 

" But please — Papa, how much do I cost you ?" 

" Well, my dear, perhaps two hundred dollars. What 
then?" 

" Because Papa, I thought — maybe you would lay it 
out this year — in Bibles — for poor children — to remem- 
ber me by." 



GREATER THAN A BROTHER. 43 

"I will, my precious child," he replied, kissing her brow 
with tenderness. " I will do it every year, as long as I 
live." 

The child fell asleep. Presently she awoke and said : 
" O Papa, what a sweet sight. The golden gates seemed 
to open, and so many little children came out. .0 such 
crowds ! And they ran up to me and b\egan to kiss me 
and call me bv a name. I can't remember what it was, 
but it meant "Beloved for the Saviour's sake." 



^■f|j| Ijjttut; 



THE TATTLER. 

" Be sure your sin will find you out." — Numbers xxxii. 23. 

SUPPOSE it to be a beautiful summer afternoon. You 
have dressed yourself in a pure white suit of clothes, 
and are taking a walk out into the country. At the 
edge of town there is an old pond of dirty, stagnant 
water. A green slime lies all over the face of the water. 
This water is a refuge for frogs, and lizards, and polli- 
wogs, and all manner of ugly things. In trying to cross 
the foot- log, yoU fall head over heels into this ditch. As 
you crawl out, you say, "What sort of an animal am I?" 
Your white suit presents a sad sight. 

1 once lived in a house where a lad had taken a dia- 
mond, and wrote his name and the names of his five sis- 
ters upon one of the front window panes. No soap and 
water, no, not even alcohol and violent rubbing, could 
wash out those names. There they were, night and day, 
summer and winter. 

Here comes a man up the street begging. His eyes 
are tight shut ; he has a cane in one hand, with the other 
a little boy leads him. You talk to him, but he only 
makes signs and mumbles a few sounds which you do 
not understand. What is the matter with him? You 
say he is blind, and dumb, and very poor. 

Some years ago in the Southern States you could see 
black men and women, and children, too, working very 

(47) 



48 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

hard in the fields, picking cotton, or hoeing corn. They 
had a man watching them, called an "overseer." In 
many of the towns you could see a crowd of black peo- 
ple around an auction block, whilst some crier was 
selling them to the highest bidder. Who were these 
people ? They were slaves, 

Now, sin in the heart is as filthy a thing as that white 
suit of clothes was, after you got out of the ditch. Sin is 
as hard a thing to rub out of the heart, as were those 
names written with the diamond. Sin is as hard a thing 
to bear as for a man to be dumb, and blind, and a poor 
beggar. Sin is as dreadful a thing as to be sold into 
slavery.. Sin can't be hid. Adam and Eve tried to hide 
it, and to hide themselves, but God walked in that gar- 
den in the cool of the day and said, "Adam, where art 
thou ? " That man who stole a large piece of gold — ■ 
shaped like a wedge — and hid it, was found out and 
punished. When Jonah ran away from his duty, he 
went to sea in a ship to escape, but his sin was found 
out. 

A few years ago there were a great many murders 
committed in the coal regions of Pennsylvania, by 
the Molly Maguires. Some of the murderers, for fear 
of being found out, ran away in the night into other 
parts of the country. They went where everybody were 
strangers to them. They changed their names and their 
business, but their sin found them out, and many of them 
were caught and punished. There is no such thing as 
escaping when one sins. If man does not find it out every 
time, God does. His eyes are in every place. " Thou 
God seest me." 



THE TATTLER. 49 

Sin is like that carriage which the two young men 
hired at the livery stable. They said they were going so 
many miles out into the country. Instead of that, they 
went five times as many miles. When they went to pay 
the man for the use of the horse, he asked them how 
many miles they had driven. They said, "We went just 
where we told you we were going." " Now," said the 
man, " IVe caught you." He went to one of the wheels 
which had in the inside a dial like the face of a watch, 
which told just the number of miles which they had 
driven. "There," said he, "you were just five times as 
far as you say you were." Now sin is like that carriage 
wheel ; it tells on itself. It is a great tattler. " Well," 
says some wicked fellow who reads this, "well, suppose 
the sin does find me out, what then? Who cares ?" 

Ah ! If a person cuts his hand with a sharp hatchet, 
don't he care? He cries out with pain. He must keep 
a bandage around it for a long time. The pain lasts a 
good while. And when the sore heals there's the scar. 
It won't come out. But suppose a person cuts himself 
many times in a week, so that his hands and feet and 
body are full of sores or of scars. Wouldn't that be 
dreadful ? It would. 

See those fellows coming up out of those coal mines. 
They are as black as negroes. " How did you get so 
black?" you say. "O!" they answer, "you can't work 
among coal without getting black." 

If you fall down from a church steeple you will break 
your neck. So it is when one is a sinner. He gets full 
of bruises and scars. He gets covered with black. He 
puts out his life. 
3 



50 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

And worse than all, God is much displeased with sin. 
That good Being who brought us into the world, and to 
whom we must give account, says, "O, do not that abom- 
inable thing which I hate." He is pure, and good, and 
kind to all. But the end of sin is death. As men get 
money for working, at the end of the week or month, so 
the wages of sin is death. This death means the separa- 
tion of the soul from God. When it is said that the sep- 
aration is to last forever, that means that the soul-death 
lasts forever. 

If you say, How can I get clear of this tattler who 
brings me into such trouble, I answer : If we forsake 
our sins, and turn against them ; if we believe that Jesus 
died to make it possible for us to be saved from sin, and 
trust ourselves into his hands, God will " blot out as a 
cloud all our sins." He will cleanse our hearts and make 
them perfect in his sight. He will gui<4p us in the right 
way, and teach us his holy will. Shall we not all say 
this hour that beautiful prayer, " Lord, show me myself; 
Lord, show me thyself;" 

" For him who for my life hast died 
For those sad wounds that pierced thy side, 
Lord heal my poor heart crucified. Amen." 



fa ^tttttwtt %ni* 



AN AUTUMN LEAF. 

"We all do fade as a leaf." — Isaiah lxiv. 6. 

TAKE a little piece of soft wire, a little piece of green 
wax, some fire, some ingenuity and patience, and 
you can make a nice green leaf. No, you can't ! You 
can make something that looks like a leaf, but you can't 
make a leaf. To make a real leaf, there must be a God. 
That God must act. Men say when the sap pushes up 
out of the roots of a tree into the branches, that out of 
the tiny buds leaves will be made. Very well. But God 
makes the sap. He sends down the warm sun to start 
it out of its hiding-place in the roots. He made thou- 
sands and thousands of little channels up through the 
tree so that the sap could get up in the spring, and down 
again in the winter. God makes one kind of sap make 
a certain kind of leaf, and a certain color of leaf, and then 
he makes another kind of sap make a different kind of 
leaf, and a different color. Now, the little wax leaf 
which you made has no life in it at all. It looks like a 
leaf. In shape or color it is exactly like the one you get 
off of the tree. But if you were to get all the best men 
in your town, all the scholars, and physicians, and 
lawyers, and mechanics, all the rich men—yes, all the 
praying men and women — and ask them to put life into 
your leaf, they couldn't do it. You can't get it in with 
money, or learning, or skill, or praying. 

(53) 



54 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

A leaf is a very delicate thing. It is a very pretty 
thing. If you want to see its real beauty, however, you 
must look at it with a microscope. Then you can see all 
its ribs and veins. Autumn leaves are especially pretty. 
See those leaves of the hickory-nut tree. They are like 
so many pieces of gold leaf. Those of the dogwood are 
crimson; of the sweet-scented crab, purple; of the differ- 
ent maples, silvery white, and all the tints known to the 
eye. 

Some leaves are very fragrant. Can you mention 
those which are fragrant, commencing with the tuberose 
leaves ? 

Now, leaves have little duties to perform. These duties 
are very necessary, too. Leaves are to a plant what 
lungs are to a man. The lungs take up the oxygen of 
the air, and throw out a certain other gas, and so we 
get health and strength. Leaves take into themselves 
certain gases of the atmosphere, and throw off oxygen, 
and so live. They are also very busy in taking into 
themselves dew, and rain, and sunshine. These build up 
the life of a plant. 

It is said by some that everything about a plant, the 
stalk, the blossom, the flower, are only so many differ- 
ent forms of leaves. 

And now, having done their work in Autumn, they 
go drifting, .hurrying by us with every gust of wind. 
The woods are full of them. But they are faded and 
dead, and will soon be lost forever from our eyes. They 
are useful though, even in their death, as they greatly en- 
rich the soil. 



AN AUTUMN LEAF. 55 

The little Scripture text which I have taken, compares 
leaves to people : " We all do fade as a leaf." It does 
so, perhaps, to show us that like leaves, our life is an in- 
tricate, beautiful, and useful thing. Ask your school 
teacher how many " bones " you have in your body ; 
how many there are in your head and face ; how many 
in your hands and arms ; how many in your feet. Find 
out also about the thousands of little " nerves" running 
through your body. About the "blood," how it gets 
from your "heart" to your "brain," or the finger ends 
and toes, and then back again to the heart. Ask about 
the " muscles," and what are they for. D on't be satisfied 
until you learn how it is that we " hear," and " see," and 
" smell," and u touch." Also be sure and ask how it is 
that by eating and exercise we get strong. 

And now, since you have found out so much from 
others, try to think yourself what your " mind " can do. 
It is a most wonderful thing. You can pack into it a 
thousand things, and yet it is not full. There is geogra- 
phy, grammar, arithmetic, history, spelling, geometry, 
astronomy — but I would certainly make you tired if I 
would name everything in that line. Whew! what a 
workshop it is — a bureau chock full of all kinds of 
things. Why we can remember, and imagine, we can 
look into, we can tell others, we can do many and mighty 
things. 

Think also how some men can make engines, ships, 
watches, reapers, houses, bridges, cannons, telescopes, 
diving-bells, light-houses, balloons, carriages, etc. Think 
how some know all about plants and roots, shrubs, flow- 



56 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

ers, fruit, trees, animals, insects, fishes, birds. How they 
can tell about the sun, and moon, and stars, the atmos- 
phere, the clouds, the earth, the sea. How they are ac- 
quainted with laws, and diseases, and war. How they 
can invent all manner of machines and instruments. 
How they can graft, paint pictures, carve statues, play on 
musical instruments, sing, speak, mine, print, everything 
almost. Think how our words, and thoughts, and deeds, 
affect others. O, there is so much about our life that 
makes it a power for good or evil ! 

Then, like the " leaf/' we fade and die. It was only 
the other day that I saw a little boy laid in the cold 
ground. But when we thought how good he had been 
in his life, how pleasant in death, we stood around him 
and sang: 

" There is a happy land 
Far, far away, 
Where saints in glory stand, 
Bright, bright as day.*' 

Up until death we are like the leaf. After death we 
are unlike it. The leaf dies, and is forgotten and lost. 
We die, and are remembered and kept. There is a new 
and better life for us hereafter. There we shall see 
things as they are. Then we shall have the highest 
places in which to live. Then we shall be like God. So 
that even in the autumn days, when leaves are fading and 
falling, reminding us of our own " passing away," we'll 
trust in Christ and march bravely forward. 



ftat Ifttfttt tft4 llHrJf 



A CHAT ABOUT THE BIBLE. 

Scene. — Parlor of Mrs. C . 

Persons. — I. Sallie, a Sunday-school Teacher. 

2. Ned — First Scholar. 

3. John — Second Scholar. 

First Part. 

N. — Miss Sallie, we have called this evening to have a 
little talk about the Bible. 

J. — Yes ! It is the only book used in the Sunday- 
school, and we would like to know more about it. 

S. — I am delighted, boys, that you have come upon 
such an errand. Whatever I know about that grand old 
book, I shall be glad to tell you. 

N.— Why is it called the Bible ? 

6*. — The word Bible is taken from the Greek word 
Biblos y which means book, and God's Book is the Book. 

J.— How old is it ? 

vS. — Genesis is more than 3000 years old. Revelation 
almost 1800. 

y. — That would make something like twelve or fifteen 
hundred years between the writings of Moses and that 
of St. John. 

5.— Yes. 

N. — You have often told us that good men wrote the 
Bible. How could they write such wonderful things ? 

S. — They were taught of God. 
(59) 



60 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

N. — But wouldn't they make mistakes ? 

vS. — No ! " They spake as they were moved by the 
Holy Ghost/' 

y. — Were these educated men ? 

vS. — Some of them were, others were not. 

N. — Were all these things spoken in the English 
language ? 

5. — By no means, my child. The English language 
is not yet a thousand years old. They were written in 
Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek. 

y. — As our kind of paper was not known then, upon 
what did they write ? 

5. — Upon parchment and vellum, i. e., paper made 
out of the leaves of trees, skins of animals, etc. 

y. — Were these books divided up into chapters as 
they are now ? 

5. — No ! That was done about six hundred years 
ago. 

N. — How has the Bible been kept from destruction all 
this time ? 

6*. — The same hand which gave it has saved it from 
the great fires and floods, from wicked men and bad 
laws. Many men have been put to death for its sake. 

y. — Was the Bible printed in old times ? 

6*. — The art of printing was not known in the days of 
the Saviour. 

N. — When was the first English Bible (written) made ? 

5.— About A. D. 1380, by John Wickliffe, of England. 

N. — When was the first English Bible printed ? 



A CHAT ABOUT THE BIBLE. 6 1 

5. — About A. D. 153S, by Miles Coverdale, of Eng- 
land. 

J. — You often say to us that we use King James' 
translation. What do you mean by that ? 

5. — James the First was king of England from A. D. 
1603 to 1625. In A. D. 1607 he appointed fifty- four of the 
most learned scholars of the day to make a translation 
out of the best manuscripts. Forty-nine of them under- 
took this great work, and in A. D. 1610 finished it. 

Ni — Into how many languages and dialects has the 
Bible been translated and printed ? 

5. — About 313. 

Second Part. 

S. — And now, boys, you have been so inquisitive 
about this blessed text-book of ours, before we separate 
I must ask you a few questions. How many books are 
there in the Bible ? 

Both, — Sixty-six. 

5. — How many are there in the Old Testament? 

Both — Thirty-nine. 

*S. — How many in the New Testament? 

J. — Twenty-seven. 

S. — Can you tell how they are divided ? 

Both. — Into Historical, Prophetical, Poetical, and 
Letters. 

5. — How many authors are there in the Bible ? 

N. — Do you mean how many wrote books ? 

S.— Yes. 

N.— Forty. 



62 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

5. — Why did God give us the Bible ? 

Both. — That we might learn his will concerning us. 

5. — Could'nt we have found out that will without his 
help? 

Both. — None of us. 

*S. — What does the Bible strike at in us ? 

Both. — (Hesitating). 

S. — Can't you think ? (Still hesitating.) It strikes at 
our sin. 

S. — Does it make us all accountable ?) 

N. — It does. 

J. — And it says we shall all be judged for our words 
and deeds. 

S. — That is right. But who is the chief character in 
the Bible ? 

Both. — The Saviour. 

5. — How does the Bible say we can get rid of sin ? 

Both. — By repenting of it, and believing on Jesus. 

5. — How often should we read the Bible ? 

Both. — Every day. 

.S. — How should we study it ? 

J. — Just like a miner digs for ore — intending to get 
something valuable out of it. 

S. — I thank you, my dear boys, for this visit. You 
have asked me some very puzzling questions. If you 
will come again, we will have another talk about our be- 
loved book. Good night ! 

Both. — Good night. (Exit boys.) 






{fljHd-'tiK*. 



CHILD-LIFE. 

" Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure 
and whether it be right." — Proverbs xx. u. 

IT is a great thing to be a child. Many men would 
like to go back to their childhood, and live over the 
days and years. Out of boys and girls men and women 
are made. If you pick a little bud from a rose-bush, and 
break it into half, you will see a great number of little 
leaves all pressed together. Your papa couldn't pack 
them so tightly if he were to put them under his letter- 
press for many days. But if you had left the bud on the 
plant for a few days longer, it would have burst open 
into a most beautiful and fragrant rose. 

A bright-eyed, sunny-faced, happy-hearted schoolboy, 
tripping along the way with his book-bag thrown across 
his shoulder, will soon be a strong, able-bodied man, do- 
ing business. He may be building houses, or selling 
goods, or making shoes, or farming land. He is now 
like the rosebud, packed full of possible things ; he will 
then be like the flower. 

That rosy-cheeked, modest, hopeful girl, with a kind 
look and merry ringing laugh, will soon be a full-grown, 
active, beautiful woman. She will be engaged in one or 
another of the several duties of life. 

But there is something else beside growing into man- 
hood and womanhood. There is something greater than 

(65) 



66 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

getting larger eyes, and hands, and feet. That some- 
thing we call character. By that we mean the "kind" 
of men and women they will be. This forming char- 
acter commences whilst we are young. It begins in 
very little things. It continues in very little things. 
But it grows into very great things. 

There is a barn so built upon the Alleghany moun- 
tains that the rain which falls upon the roof separates. 
The rain which falls upon the one side of the roof, runs 
into a stream which flows into the Susquehanna, and 
thence into the Chesapeake bay, and on into the Atlantic 
Ocean. The rain which falls upon the other side of the 
roof, gets into a stream of water by which it is carried 
into the Alleghany, thence into the Ohio, and on to the 
Gulf of Mexico. The point where the waters first di- 
vided is very small. But see how different the course of 
each ! So it happens with people. A very little thing 
changes the channel of their lives. Much depends upon 
the kind of tempers we have : if we are sour and ill- 
tempered, nobody will love us ; if we are kind and 
cheerful, we shall have friends wherever we go. Much 
depends upon the way in which we improve our school 
days. Much depends upon the kind of comrades we 
have; much upon the kind of habits we form. If we 
would have the right kind of a life, we must watch the 
little things. We must see how one thing affects another 
thing, how one little act takes in many others. 

In the year 1867, I lived in the romantic town of 

B . A stone's throw from my study window stood a 

splendid tree, its boughs bent to the ground by the 



CHILD-LIFE. 67 

weight of golden apples. My neighbor, Mr. Y , and 

his family were away from home. Three thieving boys 
knew this, and knew also of the ripe fruit. These 
boys made frequent raids upon the old tree, Sundays 
not excepted. One evening I hallooed at them most 
lustily, just as one was ready to mount the tree and fill 
his pockets. How they sneaked away, trying to get be- 
yond my sight. They forgot that " the eyes of the 
Lord are in every place." I set myself to thinking how 
many sins were bound up in that one little thing, as they 
supposed. 

1. — They broke the commandment which says, "Thou 
shalt not steal." 

2. — They broke that commandment which says, 
" Thou shall not covet," etc. 

3. — They also broke the one which says, " Honor thy 
father and thy mother." 

4. — And again, the one " Remember the Sabbath day 
to keep it holy." 

5. — I think they violated the first commandment: 
"Thou shalt have no other God but me." If you ask 
me the reason for believing this, I must say that they 
made gods out of their stomachs. All day they were 
cramming and stuffing themselves. You might see 
them loitering about the cake-shops, hanging on the 
fruit wagons, or tramping through the orchards, stealing 
and eating. 

If so much depends on little things, and so many 
things go to shape child-life, I ought to say that a few 
rules are necessary for its guidance. 



68 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

First. — We must have pure ideas. Truth is found in 
many places, but pure truth — truth without any error — 
the whole of truth which relates to our life and the 
future world is only found in " Jesus," and " the Word." 
He is the perfect teacher. If we start in error, it does not 
matter how far we go in it, it is error still. And it leads 
from bad to worse, and then to worst. 

Second. — We must do right actions. Some children 
are quarrelsome, some are kind. This one is deceitful, 
that one sincere. Some are disobedient, some obedient. 
Some are stubborn, others are easily conquered. Now, 
to do right is the first thing to learn. But if we would 
do right, we must have our hearts washed. We must 
ask that the Holy Spirit help us. We are only strong 
enough to do right when God helps us. 

Third. — We must have right motives. By motives is 
meant the cause we have in doing things — why we do 
things. Some things may turn out good to others, al- 
though we meant them otherwise. If our thoughts and 
intentions are wrong, we can get no credit for what our 
actions may do. 

Fourth. — We must be forgiving. If others do wrong, we 
need not. If they say wicked things about us, their 
saying them does not make them true. If they do evil 
things to us, we must not return evil for evil. 

" I want to see my mother," sobbed a poor boy as a 
city undertaker screwed down the lid of a coffin. 

" You can't. Get out of the way, boy. Why don't 
somebody take the brat ?" 



CHILD-LIFE. 69 

" Only let me see her a minute," cried the orphan. 
" Only once ; let me see my mother, only once." 

Quickly and brutally the hard-hearted monster struck 
the boy away. 

" When I'm a man I'll kill you for that," muttered the 
child. 

Years passed away. The court-house was crowded. 

"Does any man appear as this man's counsel ?" asked 
the Judge. 

There was silence. A young man stepped forward 
and pleaded his cause. He was a stranger, but his power 
in speech and management acquitted the criminal. 

" May God bless you, sir," said the acquitted man. 
" I can't." 

"I want no thanks," replied the stranger. "Man, I will 
refresh your memory. Twenty years ago, you struck a 
broken-hearted boy away from his poor mother's coffin. 
I was that boy." 

Turning pale, the man said, " Have you rescued me, 
then, to take my life ?" 

" No ! I have a sweeter revenge. I have saved the life 
of a man whose brutal deed has remained with me for 
twenty years. Go, and remember the tear of a friendless 
child." 



fhkiH !i*4w*tat itt % wWq f fttt* t 



A. FISHING EXCURSION IN THE OLDEN 
TIME. 

John xxi. i-ij. 

HAVING read those thirteen verses, imagine yourself 
to be an artist, painting three pictures out of this 
story. 

1. There is to be a beautiful lake lying among the 
hills. The shore must be fringed with grasses and 
flowers. Upon the calm silvery waters you must have 
several little fishing-boats. In these boats paint a half 
dozen of men ; their faces must have a rather sad ap- 
pearance, for they have been in trouble. A dark shad- 
ing must be thrown over the picture, for it is night. A 
few torches in the boats may light up the scene some- 
what, but they will make the shadows all the darker. 
These men must be busy fishing. 

2. Paint this picture with the same lake in the fore- 
ground. Then show the sun as climbing up over the 
hills and throwing out his light. The birds are awake 
with their songs, and the cows, cattle and sheep are feed- 
ing on the hillside. A village or two must be upon the 
left bank. There is to be a beautiful figure of a man 
walking along the shore, The fishermen are dragging a 
net full of fishes to the shore. 

3. Paint that same lake. It is all quiet. There is not 
a boat upon its bosom. They are all drawn up our 

4 (73) 



74 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

of the water. The fishermen and the stranger are 
grouped around the breakfast. They all seem to be 
glad, and are looking into the face of the kind man who 
came among them. 

Call these pictures, Toiling, The Surprise, The Early- 
Meal. Whilst you are admiring them, I will try and 
explain them, and find out their lessons to us. 

The fishermen were men who loved Jesus. They had 
been following him for three years. They had seen his 
wonderful works and heard his wonderful words. But 
wicked men had taken Jesus and crucified him. A good 
man had begged his body and laid it in a new tomb. In 
three days the grave was empty ; the Lord had risen 
from the grave. These men were cast down and dis- 
couraged. They had gone to the Lake of Galilee to 
fish — that was their business before they were the Lord's 
disciples. It is said they "toiled all night and caught 
nothing." 

I. The earliest picture can teach us that, however earn- 
estly we ma y work in a good cause, we may not succeed 
right away. There is a place for children in the Church 
of God. There are many little fields in which they can 
work ; and they can glean after the reapers — that is not 
such hard work. If you do good, you need not expect 
that everything will be as you want it right away. 

It was a warm, spring morning; you were told that a 
bit of ground in the garden was yours, that you might 
plant beans, and peas, and lettuce, and other seeds. You 
were glad of the chance, but the morning after you had 
planted them you did not go out expecting to see the 



A FISHING EXCURSION IN THE OLDEN TIME. 75 

beans ready for poles, or the lettuce for eating. You 
said, I must give them their time ; time to get warm in 
the ground ; time to get ready to burst open, to break 
the ground and put up their heads. Now the good 
words, and good deeds, and kind looks, which we may 
use in our life, are like little seeds. They will grow in 
somebody's heart if we sow them there. When we feed 
a babe food, we do not expect it to get to be a strong 
man in one day. We must wait; he'll grow if we* give 
him time, and keep feeding him right. Good deeds are 
like good food. Love conquers all things. Love wins, 
but we must toil on in the darkness, but without fear 
or doubting. 

2. The "Surprise" can teach us that when Jesus helps 
us we will certainly succeed. As soon as Jesus told these 
men to cast in their net on the right side, they took a 
great number of fishes. It doesn't matter where we work ; 
if our work is to please God and honor his cause, it will 
have the Saviour's blessing. And any work honors God 
that is right work. Sometimes it is just as necessary for 
a little girl to wash dishes as it is for her to go to Sun- 
day-school. Sometimes it is just as necessary for a little 
boy to go errands as it is for him to study the Bible. 
The little duties must have a place and somebody to look 
after them. And if we do them willingly and cheerfully, 
and do not whine and murmur, and are not pouty, in do- 
ing our right things in right ways, the Lord will help us. 
If we are kind to the poor ; if we take new scholars to 
Sunday-school; if we attend the prayer-meetings, and 
try to help our pastor in the good work of saving souls, 



j6 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the Lord will certainly be with us. He said " Without 
me ye can do nothing." With him w r e can do all things. 
3. After the night of hard work and the morning sur- 
prise, then they were rewarded by being permitted to 
sit down with Jesus to breakfast. They heard him say 
grace. They heard him speak loving words. He made 
them great promises. So in our work, when we have 
finished it we shall be rewarded by being with Jesus ; 
by sitting down with him in the kingdom of light. We 
shall see his face and hear his voice, We shall meet all 
who have served him upon the earth. 

" Forever blessed they, 

Whose joyful feet shall stand, 
While endless ages waste away, 
Amid that glorious land !" 



%\tf <paty (0 |}«q. 



THE GATE TO POWER. 

" Give yourselves to prayer." — i Corinthians vii. 5. 
O AID a little Indian girl to a friend of mine, " Sir, if 
O you will give me ten cents I will show you the way 
to heaven." 

" That seems very cheap," replied the gentleman. 

" Yes, it is, but I'll show you the 'righty ' way if you 
will give me the money." 

"But isn't the Gospel free to everybody? and now you 
want me to pay to find this way to heaven." 

"Yes, it's free after you know the way," replied the girl. 

" Well, now, my little preacher, I'll give you the ten 
cents if you will show me the right road, so that I cannot 
miss it." (Gives her the money.) 

" O you cannot miss it if you will go that way. I 
found it in the fourteenth chapter of St. John, and the 
sixth verse. 'And Jesus said unto them, I am the way.'" 
The little girl was right, for Jesus is the way. 

And yet you say, I cannot go up into heaven to find 
the Saviour, and I do not know how he is the way. 
Let me explain : 

God is pure and good. Man is sinful. God and man 
are in this way separated. Jesus came into the world 
to bring man back to God. This is the only name given 
unto us by which we can be saved. His death is ac- 
cepted by God as a full price for our sins. To repent of 

(79) 



80 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

sin and believe in Christ is our only hope. To be able 
to do this we must pray. Prayer is the gate. And the 
gate leads to the way. And the way leads to purity 
and obedience ; to happy living ; to peaceful dying ; to 
everlasting rest in heaven. 

Death had robbed Karl Slemen of all his friends. The 
world was cold and dark. He had heard of the kind 
man of the Bible called Jesus. But he did not know 
much about him, and no one seemed to care to teach 
him. One day he sat down and wrote the following 
letter : 

Dear Jesus : — I am a poor boy. I am all alone in this world. 
Nobody cares for me and I do not know what to do. I have heard 
that you are very kind to boys who have no friends. I want to 
love you and do good in the world. I would like to go to school 
and learn more than I know. I will be obliged to you if you will 
help me. Karl. 

He sealed the letter and addressed it "To the Lord Jesus 
in Heaven." He put it into the post office and went his 
way. When the postmaster saw this singular address he 
said, " What does this mean ?" He opened and read 
the contents. His heart was touched. He said " I will 
give this letter to Mrs. S , who is one of Jesus' disci- 
ples.'' He did so. After reading the letter, she traced it 
up to the little German boy who lived in the same town. 
She gave him a new suit of clothes, sent him to school, 
taught him all about Jesus, and was rewarded by seeing 
Karl become a holy and useful man. 

That was a strange way for him to do, you say. Yes, 
it was ; but God has many ways of answering our pray- 



THE GATE TO POWER. 8 1 

ers, if they are only offered to him in the name of his 
Son. The slightest whisper he can hear. The very 
least desire of our heart he knows. And he has prom- 
ised that " If we ask anything in Jesus' name it shall be 
given unto us." 

That was a beautiful prayer which the Saviour taught 
his disciples when he was upon the earth. You repeat it 
perhaps every day. "Our Father which art in heaven," etc. 

But do you know what that prayer means ? Study the 
words of it a moment. I. We are told that God is our 
Father ; that is, that he made us. That he keeps us. 
That he redeems us. That we are his children, and ought 
to be obedient and loving. That if we are so, all that a 
father's heart can think of or a father's hand bring, he 
will certainly give to us. 

2. That his name must be kept holy. Some use that 
great name wickedly, and others foolishly — which is 
wickedly. But we must hold it in reverence. 

3. That we ask for daily food — for the forgiveness of 
our sins — to be guided in the time of danger — to be 
saved from all evil. That his will should be carried out 
in the earth as it is among the angels. 

4. That all power belongs to God. And that the king- 
dom is his, and the glory. 

5. That we solemnly say to all this, "Amen" — so let 
it be. 

Saying words then is not prayer — even saying right 
words. The prayer is the talking of our hearts to God. 
What we need, we should ask for. What others need, we 



82 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

should ask for. What the church and the world need, 
we should ask for. And if we believe that God does at 
that moment hear us, and is true to his promises and 
answers, at the time we call we do then receive. All 
hindrances are removed, all unbelief is taken away, and 
we prevail with God. The Bible is full of examples of 
men and women who prayed. When they prayed, God 
sent the rain, God shut the mouths of lions, God 
opened the sea, God sent bread from heaven, and quails 
for the people to eat, and water to drink. Many mighty 
things have been done through prayer. Prayer is 
power. It gives us the means of reaching our Father's 
mind and of opening our Father's hand. The people 
who pray are the happiest and best people upon the 
earth; the safest people in dying, the most successful and 
honored people in eternity. 



(|4 jtaaUf* and M*i*t jf tfiftiq* 



THE EAGLETS AND THEIR MOTHER. 

"As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, 
spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them upon her 
wings : so the Lord alone did lead him.' ? — Deuteronomy xxxii. 

ONCE upon a time a proud bird called the eagle, 
made her nest far up on the side of a great moun- 
tain. After sitting upon some eggs for a certain while, 
she brought out as pretty a sight as one ever gets to see 
among the rocks and trees. It was a brood of little 
eagles. O, how merry they all are, as the sunbeams 
dance into that nest ! The livelong day the old mother 
scours the fields and forests to get food for her darlings. 
Having found it, she takes it and flies back to the nest, 
and gives a portion to each. She does this day after day. 
Isn't she a royal mother ? After a time, when the birds 
have gotten stronger, the mother thinks they ought to 
learn to fly. She wants them to see the beauty of the 
world — -the river flowing to the sea, the mountain rising 
toward the sun, the landscape stretching over all the 
earth. She says, " These little ones must depend upon 
themselves now. They must learn to make their own 
living. They must leave this quiet, easy place and get 
out into the world/' And, would you believe it, she be- 
gins to tear the nest all to pieces. She stirs out of their 
cosy room every single birdlet. She flies above the nest 
without lighting upon it. She takes the little fellows 

(85) 



86 GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS- 

out, balancing them upon her wings so as to teach them 
to fly. 

It's a pretty tough school, you say. Yes, rather tough. 
And these little fellows no doubt think that their mother 
is a sharp schoolmistress. But it doesn't matter what 
they think. She still keeps at that kind of work. The 
birds try their wings ; they get confidence in themselves ; 
with every trial comes greater strength. Their keen 
eyes begin to catch a sight of the beautiful world below. 
They soon leave the nest. They fly all abroad in the air. 
They visit the other eagle families among the crags. 
They are ready now to breast any storm. Indeed, they 
have a gay and happy life up in cloudland, or down in 
the plains below. 

God had a family once called Israel. They became a 
nation of slaves. They lived way down in old Egypt. 
They were poor and ignorant; their masters were cruel. 
These Israelites were chosen by God to do a certain 
thing. They were to become the Lord's people entirely, 
and from them Christ would be born, and the world 
saved from sin, and death, and hell. When their father 
Jacob lived, they were in pleasant circumstances. When 
their brother Joseph lived, they were beloved. But a 
new king of Egypt treated them with great cruelty. They 
cried to God and God heard them. He called Moses 
his servant, and said, you "Must bring up my people 
into a land which I will show thee." He said to Pharaoh, 
king of Egypt, " Let my people go." To the people he 
said, " Ye shall get you up out of this land." 

After great and mighty plagues, Moses led more than 



THE EAGLETS AND THEIR MOTHER. 87 

a million of men, women, and children out of Egypt. 
God opened the Red Sea, and they passed over to the 
other side. They marched through the great wilderness. 
At Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the Ten Command 
ments and other laws. After spending much time there 
they came to the edge of the good land of Canaan. 

For disbelieving God and the men who went out to 
see the land, God sent them back into the wilderness, 
where,. they wandered. During all the time spent in the 
wilderness, they were being prepared for the better life 
which they were to live in the Holy Land. It was not 
Paradise Sometimes they got out of bread, and meat, 
and water. Fiery serpents came into the encampment ; 
many of the people were bitten and died. They had a 
war on one occasion and great afflictions. God was 
proving them. He made that life of theirs uncomforta- 
ble — just like the nest of the eagles. The wilderness 
was not the home of the Israelites. Canaan was their 
home. But all the time God " instructed them,"." he 
kept them as the apple of his eye"; "he led them 
about." And such as believed God, and kept his com- 
mandments, got over into the land which " flowed with 
milk and honey." 

My dear children, God has another people — Christians. 
He found them in another Egypt. We call it sin. Our 
hearts are slaves to sin. But there is another Moses. 
He was chosen as a~" leader and a commander of his 
people." That Moses is the Lord Jesus. Down in the 
valley of sin he came, and led us up through the Red 
Sea of doubt and danger, and gave us to sing a great 



ob GOSPEL AMONG THE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

song of deliverance. He is teaching us his will. Only 
now we are at Gethsemane and Calvary, instead of Mt. 
Sinai. We are not afraid when he speaks, as the people 
were there. We keep a " feast" — the " Lord's Supper" 
instead of the " old Passover." We spend many hours 
tenting along where the waters are bitter. But though 
God deals with us as the mother eagle dealt with her 
brood. God has the same kind of end before him. 
That end is that we should be made fit for a better life 
than this. That life is beyond death. It is a life in 
which we shall know God more fully than we do here. 
We shall see Jesus. We shall see holy angels. We 
shall study the works of God. We shall worship God. 
We shall meet the good men and women and children 
who have died and gone over into the " Happy Land." 
But whilst we are here we are tempted. We meet with 
many losses. We have much to trouble us. The way 
is hedged up. The clouds seem to be dark. But all the 
time God is leading us by his hand. He has promised 
to " give his angels charge over us." They " encamp 
around us." He says that his " name is a strong tower," 
and unto it we may run and hide. He says that " even the 
hairs of our head are all numbered." That he will be 
" with us alway." In no other way, trusting God, and 
by no other means save Jesus Christ, can we find such 
safety, such happiness, such wealth. May you all find 
the Heavenlv Canaan. Amen. 



n 



I 









ADVERTISEMENT. 

Copies of " The Gospel among the Boys and Girls" may 
be had by addressing the Author and enclosing 
per dozen. 

HILES PARDOE, Sunbury, Pa. 



us ' 



